Name: The Secret History
ISBN: 9781400031702

Donna Tartt

Richard Papen had never been to New England before his nineteenth year. Then he arrived at Hampden College and quickly became seduced by the sweet, dark rhythms of campus life – in particular by an elite group of five students, Greek scholars, worldly, self-assured, and at first glance, highly unapproachable.

The Secret History 

Yoana Terzieva 

michaela

Lieke Nieuwlaat 

giuli

laila

julia

sybil

kristin :)

Iris van der zanden

lemon

Tija

Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it. 

And what could be more terrifying and beautiful, to souls like the Greeks or our own, than to lose control completely? To throw off the chains of being for an instant, to shatter the accident of our mortal selves? 

tara  (she/her)

Victoria Justice

Laura

And always, always, that same toast. Live forever. 

Victoria Morris

Inês Lemos S.

soph 

“Beauty is rarely soft or consolatory. Quite the contrary. Genuine beauty is always quite alarming.”

Stavros Kosmas

juana de arco si estuviera cronicamente online

🎠

The dead appear to us in dreams, said Julian, because that's the only way they can make us see them; what we see is only a projection, beamed from a great distance, light shining at us from a dead star... 

saad

Victoria

Forgive me, for all the things I did but mostly for the ones that I did not. 

Caroline 

Franzi

Lucia 

Storm

trezaa

Nihil sub sole novum, I thought as I walked back down the hall to my room. Any action, in the fullness of time, sinks to nothingness.

llikaditoo 

sofia mae

Yoko simons 

I am nothing in my soul if not obsessive.

Erin McDonald

jenna de nobrega 

lulu p :)

Julie <3

percy

Aimee :)

I felt my existence was tainted, in some subtle but essential way. 

Lili V Guba

“Beauty is terror. Whatever we call beautiful, we quiver before it.”

Truly deserving of the accolade 'modern classic', Donna Tartt's novel is a remarkable achievement - compelling and elegant, dramatic and playful. Under the influence of their charismatic Classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality, their lives are changed profoundly and for ever.

The Secret History

Fatima Anwar Kamal

i understand the obsession people feel with the characters. i just didn't feel the same way about them. but i really enjoyed the experience of reading this book

Donna Tartt, winner of the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for her most recent novel, The Goldfinch, established herself as a major talent with The Secret History, which has become a contemporary classic. Under the influence of their charismatic classics professor, a group of clever, eccentric misfits at an elite New England college discover a way of thinking and living that is a world away from the humdrum existence of their contemporaries. But when they go beyond the boundaries of normal morality their lives are changed profoundly and forever, and they discover how hard it can be to truly live and how easy it is to kill.

i found the writing style very seamless and vivid, and plot is also gripping. but at the end of the day, dark academia is not a genre i would personally return to. i have no previous background nor interest in the classics and all the characters read as insufferable (not in a good way) and very white. i think the second half of the book is a tad glacial, with motives not as fleshed out as they were in the first half. i respect those who indulge in the aesthetic, though! 

kate 

A good one-time read. Unexpected ending, and I finished this book in 2 days....which means that it kept me engaged, and I just want to know what happens next. Very unique setting and the theme of the book will make you pause and think of what's the fuck is going on. 

Tanishq Khandelwal

maybe i'm a bit biased as this is pretty much my first foray into this type of novel, but i just really loved it. lauded among my peers who have long finished it, i had high hopes and often expressed my live reactions to them; in hindsight, probably very amusing to them considering the wishy washy perspective i had on the classics students (i started off heavily favoring henry, ended a big francis fan).

i adore the way this is written. tartt's way of prose is distinguishable and stands the test of time remarkably well. as for characterization, all of them kept me on my toes until the epilogue (well, save for bunny for obvious reasons). i kind of needed more on julian, but it's easy to accept that anything less than his permanently pedestaled self would be disingenuous to the view of chosen narrator, richard papen.

there is so much to take and run with here due to how restrained parts of the narrative were. additionally, i'd like to commend one of the more underrated parts of the writing process—the utilization of scene cuts. they were aptly and intentionally done here, leaving me to pore over certain passages more than i would have otherwise.

rini

maybe i'm a bit biased as this is pretty much my first foray into this type of novel, but i just really loved it. lauded among my peers who have long finished it, i had high hopes and often expressed my live reactions to them; in hindsight, probably very amusing to them considering the wishy washy perspective i had on the classics students (i started off heavily favoring henry, ended a big francis fan).

i adore the way this is written. tartt's way of prose is distinguishable and stands the test of time remarkably well. as for characterization, all of them kept me on my toes until the epilogue (well, save for bunny for obvious reasons). i kind of needed more on julian, but it's easy to accept that anything less than his permanently pedestaled self would be disingenuous to the view of chosen narrator, richard papen.

there is so much to take and run with here due to how restrained parts of the narrative were. additionally, i'd like to commend one of the more underrated parts of the writing process—the utilization of scene cuts. they were aptly and intentionally done here, leaving me to pore over certain passages more than i would have otherwise.

book so good i can't stop thinking about it...

mint

Extremely incredible writing for a debut novel. Though telling the story from a first person perspective, Tartt knows how to make it a compelling and engaging story. Love every single page of it.

Alisha

this book has caused me a number of nightmares. nonetheless, it was addictive and i loved every second of it. donna tartt’s writing is just chefs kiss. 

this fuckass book consumed me like i feel like i will never find another book i’ll like this much again i feel sick to my stomach i really do get the hype 

nina 

jana 

The Secret History is a well-written book with one of the (best-written) most unlikable, unreliable narrators I’ve come across so far. Tartt’s world-building is incredible, and her descriptions of events are so vivid that I struggle to put the book down. However, I do want to warn readers that its content is highly distressing, including vivid depictions of cult rituals gone wrong, murder, incest, and (although I didn’t read up to this part) suicide. These were so disturbing that they manifested in my nightmares. If you dislike or struggle to read about these topics, there is probably another better book for you to read.

Carly Goldy

Rainer Schmidt

Richard Papen stammt aus einfachen Verhältnissen. In einem kalifornischen Provinznest geboren, träumt er von nichts anderem, als fortzukommen. Endlich gelingt es ihm, ein Stipendium für das College von Hampden in Vermont zu erhalten, und die Welt, der er dort begegnet, zieht ihn vom ersten Augenblick an. Besonders fasziniert ist Richard von einer Gruppe fünf junger Studenten, die sich zusammen mit ihm bei dem verschrobenen Griechischprofessor Julian Morrow eingeschrieben haben. Da ist Henry, der Sohn reicher Eltern und heimliche Kopf des Zirkels, da ist Francis, ein leicht dekadenter und blasierter Gelderbe, das sind Charles und Camilla, die Zwillinge, die seit dem Tod ihrer Eltern von den Zuwendungen ihrer Grossmutter leben., und schliesslich Edmund, von allen "Bunny" genannt, der liebenswürdige Schnorrer, der stets auf grossem Fusse lebt, ohne je einen Pfennig in der Tasche zu haben. Gemeinsam mit ihnen paukt Richard Griechisch, zusammen mit ihnen huldigt er dem täglichen Alkohol, in ihrem Kreis verbringt er wunderbare Wochenenden auf Francis feudalem Landsitz. Doch bald spürt er, dass unter der Oberfläche unverbrüchlicher Freundschaft auch Spannungen bestehen und dass ein furchtbares Geheimnis auf seinen Freunden lastet - ein Geheimnis, das auch ihn mehr und mehr in seinen dunklen, mörderischen Sog zieht.

Roman

Die geheime Geschichte

Dieses Buch hat mich richtig mitgerissen, nicht nur von der storyline her sondern auch vom Schreibstil Donna Tartts. 

Ich finde, man kann richtig merken, wie viel Arbeit die Autorin in de Buch gesteckt hat, denn die Charakter Ausarbeitung ist soo gut. Ich war richtig drin in den Gedankengängen des Protagonisten, auch das er die Beobachterrolle manchmal einnahm und man nur in der Perspektive von ihm aus die Geschichte gelesen hat, hat es so spannend und intensiv gemacht. Auch wie er die anderen Figuren beschrieben hat und die besondere Dynamik zwischen ihnen. Die Ambivalenz der Charaktere ließ einen moralische Fragen durch den Kopf gehen, denn dieses Buch wirft ja moralische Fragen auf, sodass ich ebenso widersprüchliche Gefühle zu den Charakteren hatte. Es hat mich viel fühlen lassen und mich zum Schluss aufgewühlt und mit gemischten Gefühlen zurückgelassen.  Der Schreibstil ist sehr atmosphärisch und intensiv. Auch die kurzen Erzählungen oder Fakten zu einigen griechischen Mythen zwischendurch fand ich, hat das nochmal intensiviert. Die Dialoge sind auch so real und die Autorin hat die Geschichte mit kleinen Details sehr real gemacht.

Dennoch, ja, ich fand die Story sehr spannend und etwas, was ich noch nie gelesen habe und die Idee und der Aufbau des Buches ein Meisterwerk, aber trotzdem, war ich am Ende schon enttäuscht. Ich weis nicht, was ich mir genau gewünscht hätte, aber ich finde diese eine Sache, die in Büchern oder Filme vorkommt, nie eine gute Idee für ein Ende einer Geschichte oder einer Figur. But Donna Tartt is a Genius. 

Mariam Raji

Dieses Buch hat mich richtig mitgerissen, nicht nur von der storyline her sondern auch vom Schreibstil Donna Tartts. 

Ich finde, man kann richtig merken, wie viel Arbeit die Autorin in de Buch gesteckt hat, denn die Charakter Ausarbeitung ist soo gut. Ich war richtig drin in den Gedankengängen des Protagonisten, auch das er die Beobachterrolle manchmal einnahm und man nur in der Perspektive von ihm aus die Geschichte gelesen hat, hat es so spannend und intensiv gemacht. Auch wie er die anderen Figuren beschrieben hat und die besondere Dynamik zwischen ihnen. Die Ambivalenz der Charaktere ließ einen moralische Fragen durch den Kopf gehen, denn dieses Buch wirft ja moralische Fragen auf, sodass ich ebenso widersprüchliche Gefühle zu den Charakteren hatte. Es hat mich viel fühlen lassen und mich zum Schluss aufgewühlt und mit gemischten Gefühlen zurückgelassen.  Der Schreibstil ist sehr atmosphärisch und intensiv. Auch die kurzen Erzählungen oder Fakten zu einigen griechischen Mythen zwischendurch fand ich, hat das nochmal intensiviert. Die Dialoge sind auch so real und die Autorin hat die Geschichte mit kleinen Details sehr real gemacht.

Dennoch, ja, ich fand die Story sehr spannend und etwas, was ich noch nie gelesen habe und die Idee und der Aufbau des Buches ein Meisterwerk, aber trotzdem, war ich am Ende schon enttäuscht. Ich weis nicht, was ich mir genau gewünscht hätte, aber ich finde diese eine Sache, die in Büchern oder Filme vorkommt, nie eine gute Idee für ein Ende einer Geschichte oder einer Figur. But Donna Tartt is a Genius. 

I don’t know how you even rate something like this. The layers of the plot, the foreshadowing, the guilt, the richness of the characters…

Is it pretentious? Is everyone unlikable? Sure. But it’s so indulgent to be able to sink into that world. Amazing. 

Hannah Bateman

I don’t know how you even rate something like this. The layers of the plot, the foreshadowing, the guilt, the richness of the characters…

Is it pretentious? Is everyone unlikable? Sure. But it’s so indulgent to be able to sink into that world. Amazing. 

This one is so netflix, as mimi would say, that I was very surprised when I realised there is no netflix series yet. That said, I was enjoying parts of it, as you would such a thing. But I don't think I really understood it, especially the fact that it was so pacey while nothing was really happening. I disliked everyone in this book. It's like it has no concept of love (it seemed to me it was trying to prove otherwise).

Dora Tominic

Disclaimer: this is not a review.

This one is so netflix, as mimi would say, that I was very surprised when I realised there is no netflix series yet. That said, I was enjoying parts of it, as you would such a thing. But I don't think I really understood it, especially the fact that it was so pacey while nothing was really happening. I disliked everyone in this book. It's like it has no concept of love (it seemed to me it was trying to prove otherwise).

One of the most famous Dark Academia books.I enjoyed, however the story was very horrible in deep

Shidehdeishidi

okay it's def not like groundbreaking high brow lit but if i read this in my high school tumblr dark academia era (ESPECIALLY during covid .) would've been over for me. now reading though you can see how a generation of burnt out gifted kids are drawn like moths to a flame seeing themselves in the greek class though none of them will have the guts themselves to commit nearly as heavily. 

dont make the same mistakes and rush read this book. there’s a lot of details written in between the lines, understanding from different perspectives, because truthfully, richard  like us, romanticise actions way too much. and sometimes, like us, fail to see people as they are, just people. broken but still human.

Siri 

anyone in this book could die and i would not care

Stas

my absolute favourite, the book can be read many times and you still can't grasp all the little complexities and hints alluding to the story or symbolisms for arcs of the characters. forever thinking of this book

Vincent Osvald

bunny and henry wouldve been a great toxic yaoi couple that id keep tabs on via instagram and other nosy friends. 

this book was good only cause i put my soap opera glasses on. they were a group of silly and fatally flawed people who did not give a fuck about each other most of the time which is why it was a good time! not as groundbreaking as people say but it doesnt have to be <3

bunny and henry wouldve been a great toxic yaoi couple that id keep tabs on via instagram and other nosy friends. 

this book was good only cause i put my soap opera glasses on. they were a group of silly and fatally flawed people who did not give a fuck about each other most of the time which is why it was a good time! not as groundbreaking as people say but it doesnt have to be <3

when someone asks me what my favourite horror story is i tell them the secret history. reading this, for the second time, at a stage where my mind is less impressionable and more able to see past the surface level presentation of characters, really made richard’s desire to be a part of the narrative, the inside joke of this extremely exclusive and closed off group, much more blatantly obvious. it’s in this blatant obviousness that has amplified my distate for richard on this reread, but donna tartt oh my the absolutely master crafter you are. i love your mind. it’s so ironic that tsh really subverts a lot of the tropes of d*rk academia when it essentially is treated as the bible and genesis of it. (i don’t have strong feelings for or against the subculture; i just wish i could find better character analysis that don’t romanticise the characters and the setting itself the same way richard does, i have the book to do that for me already.)

i think it’s common for a lot of fiction, especially well-written, to inspire a lot of “fix-its” per se? which may explain the general subculture of this book over at tumblr and there’s really nothing wrong with drawing inspiration from the “what-could-have-been” and falling in love with the setting that tartt really paints very very well.

things i liked most on this reread: the winter scene dragging on for practically an eternity because that is essentially what life is like for richard without the five students that he consider the exact point of why he even went to hampden, the five muses that fuelled his “morbid longing for the picturesque” as richard himself admitted is his fatal flaw. so absolutely funny to see even near the end that richard is, of course, still an outsider to all of this, even in what was the final confrontation in a sense, him getting shot and just being a bystander.

also loved how this time the thought that came to my mind was “wow these people are genuinely unlikeable” and loved how they were made likeable precisely because richard’s a heavily unreliable narrator and he paints his own intentions and motives on these really flawed and troubled people who would do anything to protect this little bubble they all live in (bubble that richard never really became part of, i’m happy to keep thinking). and the added layer that it’s precisely this desire of richard to project and project onto his muses that allowed him to be fed confusing narratives, be told vague answers and be kept at an arm’s length. we can question a lot of things, the bacchanal is different through every retelling but every retelling sort of has henry’s desire to protect the details laced in it, seen in francis’ hesitation. we actually don’t even know the whole story entirely even until the end, beyond what richard is told, and the information is twisted to elicit compliance and give him a false sense of solidarity from the very beginning henry decides to tell him the “bulk” of it (if it stands true as he says it).

also really loved the layering of the details of the bacchanal, it’s spiritual and soulful and enlightening and grandiose from henry, it’s fragmented from camilla, laced with what i believe to be exclusion mixed with shame (in the sense of “i pity you, you’re trying so hard to stand with us but you just are not part of us, you know?”), the news clipping itself (mutilated, dude.)

i was also seeing the bunny conflict from a different lens now, all the “reasons” that richard wanted us to believe justify the murder of bunny, even if he denies or admits so, also can be questioned. presenting all the negatives piling up and up to further push the reader towards sympathising with him and the others, to even think of rooting for them, for them to pull the climatic act off successfully, these things were much more visible on this read.

i think most people like the funeral scene for the grief that it portrays and really, through the parts following the farmer’s death and bunny’s death, i wanted to see them affected for the right reasons (right in the moral sense, by pulling them out from their closed off sphere and subjecting them to the moral norms of the general population) but i think that in itself is impossible and therefore very well displayed in donna tartt’s crafting of the narrative and of the character’s reactions, they’re so in their own heads and so wholly absorbed in the small world that belongs to the five of them, of classics and greek and noble causes and beauty and terror and violence that they’re (richard? about the other four?) physically incapable of admitting that they feel something more human than they want to let on, that there’s conflict and internal turmoil (because plainly, bunny’s their FRIEND) but also these supposedly human feelings are also just bits and pieces in them. i think actually that we don’t really understand how the characters really think about it, we see their physical responses to it but these have richard’s desire, to protect the world he was denied admission to once and only has these scraps of, the world he fought to wedge himself into just to belong, layered in and prescribing alternative meanings to the other four’s responses to bunny’s murder. they’re visibly troubled. but they’re also teenagers who fucked up and really don’t know how to go back and can only assign importance to the act to justify it.

on the last part of my ramble this reread also really solidified julian as just a concept. he’s the moral compass of henry and richard (making them parallels? essentially?). or rather the IDEA of julian is the moral compass of richard, he’s projecting wise sage and fatherly benevolence onto julian and praying for the reproach of julian to at least finally allow it to sink it that what they did was horrible and even wrong. julian’s “bravery” and “conviction” to “do what is necessary” is what guides henry too, and they were both let down when the projection on julian failed to deliver and they were left to think (fend) on their own. anyway love u donna tartt.

☀️

when someone asks me what my favourite horror story is i tell them the secret history. reading this, for the second time, at a stage where my mind is less impressionable and more able to see past the surface level presentation of characters, really made richard’s desire to be a part of the narrative, the inside joke of this extremely exclusive and closed off group, much more blatantly obvious. it’s in this blatant obviousness that has amplified my distate for richard on this reread, but donna tartt oh my the absolutely master crafter you are. i love your mind. it’s so ironic that tsh really subverts a lot of the tropes of d*rk academia when it essentially is treated as the bible and genesis of it. (i don’t have strong feelings for or against the subculture; i just wish i could find better character analysis that don’t romanticise the characters and the setting itself the same way richard does, i have the book to do that for me already.)

i think it’s common for a lot of fiction, especially well-written, to inspire a lot of “fix-its” per se? which may explain the general subculture of this book over at tumblr and there’s really nothing wrong with drawing inspiration from the “what-could-have-been” and falling in love with the setting that tartt really paints very very well.

things i liked most on this reread: the winter scene dragging on for practically an eternity because that is essentially what life is like for richard without the five students that he consider the exact point of why he even went to hampden, the five muses that fuelled his “morbid longing for the picturesque” as richard himself admitted is his fatal flaw. so absolutely funny to see even near the end that richard is, of course, still an outsider to all of this, even in what was the final confrontation in a sense, him getting shot and just being a bystander.

also loved how this time the thought that came to my mind was “wow these people are genuinely unlikeable” and loved how they were made likeable precisely because richard’s a heavily unreliable narrator and he paints his own intentions and motives on these really flawed and troubled people who would do anything to protect this little bubble they all live in (bubble that richard never really became part of, i’m happy to keep thinking). and the added layer that it’s precisely this desire of richard to project and project onto his muses that allowed him to be fed confusing narratives, be told vague answers and be kept at an arm’s length. we can question a lot of things, the bacchanal is different through every retelling but every retelling sort of has henry’s desire to protect the details laced in it, seen in francis’ hesitation. we actually don’t even know the whole story entirely even until the end, beyond what richard is told, and the information is twisted to elicit compliance and give him a false sense of solidarity from the very beginning henry decides to tell him the “bulk” of it (if it stands true as he says it).

also really loved the layering of the details of the bacchanal, it’s spiritual and soulful and enlightening and grandiose from henry, it’s fragmented from camilla, laced with what i believe to be exclusion mixed with shame (in the sense of “i pity you, you’re trying so hard to stand with us but you just are not part of us, you know?”), the news clipping itself (mutilated, dude.)

i was also seeing the bunny conflict from a different lens now, all the “reasons” that richard wanted us to believe justify the murder of bunny, even if he denies or admits so, also can be questioned. presenting all the negatives piling up and up to further push the reader towards sympathising with him and the others, to even think of rooting for them, for them to pull the climatic act off successfully, these things were much more visible on this read.

i think most people like the funeral scene for the grief that it portrays and really, through the parts following the farmer’s death and bunny’s death, i wanted to see them affected for the right reasons (right in the moral sense, by pulling them out from their closed off sphere and subjecting them to the moral norms of the general population) but i think that in itself is impossible and therefore very well displayed in donna tartt’s crafting of the narrative and of the character’s reactions, they’re so in their own heads and so wholly absorbed in the small world that belongs to the five of them, of classics and greek and noble causes and beauty and terror and violence that they’re (richard? about the other four?) physically incapable of admitting that they feel something more human than they want to let on, that there’s conflict and internal turmoil (because plainly, bunny’s their FRIEND) but also these supposedly human feelings are also just bits and pieces in them. i think actually that we don’t really understand how the characters really think about it, we see their physical responses to it but these have richard’s desire, to protect the world he was denied admission to once and only has these scraps of, the world he fought to wedge himself into just to belong, layered in and prescribing alternative meanings to the other four’s responses to bunny’s murder. they’re visibly troubled. but they’re also teenagers who fucked up and really don’t know how to go back and can only assign importance to the act to justify it.

on the last part of my ramble this reread also really solidified julian as just a concept. he’s the moral compass of henry and richard (making them parallels? essentially?). or rather the IDEA of julian is the moral compass of richard, he’s projecting wise sage and fatherly benevolence onto julian and praying for the reproach of julian to at least finally allow it to sink it that what they did was horrible and even wrong. julian’s “bravery” and “conviction” to “do what is necessary” is what guides henry too, and they were both let down when the projection on julian failed to deliver and they were left to think (fend) on their own. anyway love u donna tartt.

I LOVED the first half, I loved all of the philosophical parts, hearing about them learning about classics and Greek, seeing their friendship develop because of this shared education. But tell me why I got through hundreds of pages to find out I'm reading about incest. That is just not something that makes me want to read any further, but by then it was too late to stop. 

I also found myself getting bored about 3/4 of the way in because it got to be less and less about learning Greek and classics, and it got less philosophical, which is why I liked the book in the beginning. 

Montana Langille

I LOVED the first half, I loved all of the philosophical parts, hearing about them learning about classics and Greek, seeing their friendship develop because of this shared education. But tell me why I got through hundreds of pages to find out I'm reading about incest. That is just not something that makes me want to read any further, but by then it was too late to stop. 

I also found myself getting bored about 3/4 of the way in because it got to be less and less about learning Greek and classics, and it got less philosophical, which is why I liked the book in the beginning. 

The Secret History

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